If I Lost You
by Black-Leviathan
Summary: Max and the Flock are at Itex when somethign goes horribly wrong. Bad first chapter I know, gets much better. Also, Alternate First Chapter! COMPLETED! Sorry about short chapters, Sequel on the way!
1. Chapter 1

Would You Kill For Life?

Summary: Begins in an Itex building. Max is trying to find out what experiments have been taking place. The rest of the flock is with her. And then something goes horribly, horribly wrong.

Max looked around a puzzled look on her face. She swore she heard beeping from somewhere… She looked around but the infernal beeping continued and didn't cease. Max kicked a desk in the office in frustration and it fell over. On the bottom was a gray box. It wasn't too large, just a bit bigger than a shoe box. But what scared her was the digital timer. 33:03…33:02…33:01…33:00…29:59… it continued to count down. Max turned to the flock.

"It's a bomb." Was all she had to say.

"Well why don't you let me and Iggy defuse it we can…" Gazzy started but Max cut him off with a look.

"I can't risk you guys getting hurt. I'll do it." Everyone just looked at her as she worked on the bomb. Several minutes later its casing was off revealing a maze of wires. Many of them were just fakes to trip up anyone trying to defuse it.

Max continued to work on the bomb. She looked at the timer and stood up. "I want you all to leave, now. Don't argue, and don't ask about me. I'll be fine, you'll see." Max said with a sad smile. No one argued. They all walked out. Fang looked back to say something, and caught a look at the timer. 03:01…03:00…02:59… Fang tried to say something but was pushed out.

Gazzy, Nudge, Angel, Iggy, Fang, and Total looked at the Itex building. They had left Max 2 minutes and 56 seconds ago. They were waiting for something to happen when the bomb triggered. The entire Itex complex burst into flames. It burned down with the Flock watching. They stood with tears in their eyes. Max had sacrificed her life for them. They knew they would never see her again…


	2. Alternate Chp 1

-1Chapter I

Max's POV

I leaned against a cold concrete wall. I steadied myself using my left hand, the other grasping my head as i gritted my teeth in intense pain. now, you must be thinking, "Erasers? Whitecoats? Some other new enemy?" Well, you're wrong, it's Angel yes, sweet little Angel, kind little Angel, She would never hurt a fly. But she would try and take over my mind that's a sure thing. Standing behind her was Fang, Iggy, Gazzy, Nudge, and Total too. They were all in a sort of mind control trance, Angel's doing no doubt. I looked up.

"Angel, why are you doing this? Do you really hate me that much?" Angel frowned at the comment.

"No," she she simply said, "I just wanted a fair chance? To be leader, you know?" THAT'S what this is about?? I told her, it was too dangerous. Besides, how could a 6-year-old, even if she had mind control powers, guide a group. Simple, she couldn't. So, here I am cringing on the ground in pain. Angel frowns and the pressure on my mind increased 3 fold. Angel was trying to take over my mind, and MAKE me let her be leader. Sometimes, I think her powers were getting out of control.

The pressure on my head was too great, so the expected happened. It snapped. Like an overstretched rubber band. All my painful memories, thoughts, feelings, all of it, came flooding out. The worst were those form when we were at school. The sudden rush broke Angel's mind control, and I fell to the ground. If you listened very closely you could hear the beating of a heart slowly become slower, and the breathing of a girl, slowly begin to die.


	3. Chapter 2

-1Chapter II

Gazzy was the first to recover. He looked up to see Angel kneeling on the ground crying. He walked over and held Angels' shoulders.

"Angel? Angel, what happened? Did something attack Max? Angel, please tell me." Gazzy said nearly pleading. Angel just looked up her eyes red and puffy and tears streaking her face.

"I...I don't know! Something made me try to take over Max's mind so I could be leader. And...and then, something! And now I think Max is dead!" Angel wailed alerting everyone else. Iggy tried to keep them all calm.

"Max is probably fine, just a bit tired from her 'mental ordeal'." Iggy said giving a glance in Angel's direction. "She's probably just passed out and will be fine in a couple of hours." Everyone gave tentative nods. Angel still had salty tears streaming down her face. Iggy walked over and picked up Max's hand feeling for a pulse. He couldn't feal anything and he listened for a heartbeat. He tried everything, he listened for breathing, anything to tell them that Max was alive and was going to be fine.

After several minutes of checking Max Iggy didn't stand up. He just kneeled there next to Max. Nudge was about to ask what was wrong when she noticed something. Iggy was crying. You didn't have to think to know what had happened.

Maximum Ride, was dead.


	4. Chapter 3

-1Chapter III Occurs 6 months after Chapter II

The sky is a bleak grey and a building of concrete and metal lay surrounded by miles of barbed wire. A lightning bolt strikes in the far distance. A lifeless corpse lay on a table in the middle of a cold, bleak, grey room. Upon closer inspection the corpse is that of Max, Full name, Maximum Ride. A door slides open without a sound. A man in a white coat walks in and comes up to Max. He holds a clipboard in one hand.

"DNA samples have provided no evidence of an expiration date. Subject is unresponsive. Subject scheduled for incineration." the man sighed. This had been his work. Creating the Avians. And now one was dead. He was so disappointed. Incineration was such a bad way to watch them go. As he was walking a lightning bolt struck the building. He swore as the lights flickered. He quickly glanced back and saw nothing out of order. He shivered and walked quickly towards the door. Just as he swiped a card and the door opened a hand grasped his neck.

"Going somewhere?" 

Fang and the Flock

Fang sat on a tree stump his hair hanging in front of his face hiding all expression. Various members of the Flock are sitting around. Iggy is leaning against a tree seemingly in deep thought.

"There's only one thing left to do now." Fang finally said. Everyone's attention turned towards him. "We find our parents and, forget this ever happened."

"How can you say that! This DID happen!" Gazzy shouted.

"And what did we get out of it? Pain? Heartbreak? Death." Iggy stated. Gazzy turned away biting his lip. He was right, Max was dead. Angel looked sad.

"It's ok, it wasn't your fault Angel, it was a freak occurrence." Iggy said.

"I guess you're right." Angel murmured sadly.

Fang stood up. "We're off to find our parents I guess." everyone else just stayed where they were. 

Jeb flanked by 4 erasers, 2 on each side, marched towards the morgue where Max's body was being held. Jeb smiled. It was finally time for her to be burned. He had always liked his erasers better, that's right, HIS. Jeb invented the erasers. As they approached the door Jeb noticed something. He couldn't quite place what it was. He stood to the side and ordered and ordered the Erasers to open the door. When they did Jeb's eyes widened. Lying on the floor his eyes wide in shock was Dr. Ferguts. The inventor of the Avians. On his neck was a 3rd degree burn in the shape of a hand; obviously being what had killed him. Jeb backed away. Something was going on here. Something had killed Dr. Ferguts. He pushed that thought away and turned to retrieve Max's body, only to find the table empty.


	5. Chapter 4

-1Chapter IV

Begins 1 1/2 years From Chapter III

Starting POV: Fang

Sadly, we never found our parents. Iggy's parents had been killed in a car crash not long after he left. Angel and Gasman's were shot in a mall shooting. My parent's died from a drug overdoes. Nudge's died from alcohol poisoning. And Max's, we never found out who they were, or where they lived. We wish we could've, so we could have at least told them what had happened to their daughter. Unfortunately, we were never given the chance. I'm now 17, a senior at Bricmar High School. Angel's is 8, attending 1st grade at Bricmar Elementary. Gazzy is 12 and is in 6th grade at Bricmar Middle. Iggy is 16 in 10th grade at Bricmar High. Yeah, they held Iggy back because of his, "severe physical handicap." Iggy scored a damn 2369 on his SAT. And he's BLIND. But it's my last year here. After this i can get out, get a job, and support our family. Yeah, we were all living together now. I wanted a real job to support everyone. I figured it would be another boring year of school until then. Boy was i wrong as hell. It all started the 2nd day of school...

3rd Person POV:

Mr. Barksin cleared his throat at his English class. He was an old string bean of a man. Tall, wiry, thin, and his head bent over like that of a vulture's. They class refused to cooperate. "AHEM." Mr. Barksin said a little louder. Still, no one paid any attention. "QUIET." Mr. Barksin vertably yelled. Who knew an old bean like him could yell so loud. "As I was saying. I would like to introduce the class to a new student here at Bricmar. Her name is Max. You may come in now." Mr. Barksin said in his strange somewhat creepy drawl of a voice. Fang just looked lazily up from whatever he was doing at his desk. Max? he would have cared if their Max hadn't died 2 years prior. His head, however, shot straight up when he saw her.

She had honey-chocolate eyes and short brown hair with red streaks. Obviously dyed. She had a cheery smile and was quite the looker. Every guy's head in the room was staring right at her. And the girls were too. They however weren't interested in a date, they wanted to know about the competition. Would the ever stoic Nick, sometimes calling himself Fnick for some odd reason, warm up to her? Most likely not. He never asked any girls on a date and those who asked him, were coldly turned down.

"Well, seeing as Miss. Ryde has captured the class' attention so easily, I may have to enlist her as an assistant, if only to get you to pay attention." Mr. Barksin said to the class a smirk on his lips. The entire class was astounded. Mr. Barksin was the cruelest, oldest, wrinkliest, teacher there. And he was SMILING?? Something was weird about this girl. She laughed a bit at his joke. This really caused Fang's eyes to widen. "She sounds almost like...Max." Were Fang's thoughts.

"Now then, Please take a seat Ms. Ryde." That also struck Fang. Ride? Max Ride. Woah. That was weird... 

Fang's POV:

This was getting weirder by the second. First, this girl who looks like Max, sounds like Max, has the same voice as Max, and the same NAME shows up. Something was going on. Itex? I didn't know. I hadn't noticed Max was sitting next to me until i looked up.

"Um, hi?" I asked. Max smiled at me. "So, uh... how do you spell your last name?" I immediately mentally kicked myself. Who asks THAT?

"R-Y-D-E." she replied and smiled. Ok, so she's not the old Max. Maybe... just maybe we could be friends though. It would be nice to have a friend outside the flock, I guess. I just smiled back and then turned my attention towards Mr. Barksin. What a weird name. Mr. Barksin. I snorted.

Several Hours Later

Well, what do you know. Max is in my gym class. And turns out the streaks in her hair AREN'T dyed, they're natural. Weird... Today wer were playing basketball. Something I was good at. Naturally I was good because well, flying bird kid equals good jumping abilities. And i wasn't too sketchy at shooting either, but the Max girl, DANG that girl can play! She's over there shootin' 3 pointers. I wouldn't be surprised if she was recruited to a basketball team. Oh, never mind there goes Coach Macirn (mac urn) to ask her to join. God I hope she doesn't end up on my team. Not that I don't like her, she's just, different. As if she has some weird aura around her... 

3rd Person POV:

Fang walked into the door grabbing a coke from the fridge and fell into a seat at the table. Iggy looked up from whatever it was he was doing n the sheet of paper. He was blind, what could he be doing?

"Think you took long enough walking home? even Angel and Gazzy are home already." Iggy asked hi m while scribbling something on the paper.

"I...I don't know. There's this new girl at school and, I just don't know." He realized he shouldn't have said that because right when he finished Angel and Gazzy appeared with Iggy looked up interestedly. 

"Hmm... a new girl you say?" Iggy said a smirk on his face. Fang groaned.

"It's ok Fang. We all know how much you liked Max. It must still be really hard for you now that she's gone." Angel said her voice dripping with sympathy. Fang didn't even glare at her. He didn't have the energy. "So, what's her name?" Fang sighed. At least Angel didn't go around controlling people's minds anymore. She stopped after what happened to Max.

"That's the thing her name is Max. Max Ryde." 

A/N: Ok, should be long enough. Hope you like my little plot twister )


	6. Chapter 5

-1Chapter VI

Starting POV: Fang

No one moved, no one said anything. No one dared to break the awkward silence.

"Ummm... what?" Iggy finally said.

"It's exactly what I said Iggy. Her name is Max Ryde. She's... alarmingly like the Old Max... but, there's something weird bout her. Something I can't place. I mean, how many people come to school and are accepted to the team after 1 gym class?" I asked exasperatedly. Iggy just raised his eyebrows at me.

"I'm a mutant bird freak, of course I got accepted to the basketball team after 1 day." Iggy just kept staring at me.

"Well... what if it IS the old Max?" Gazzy finally said. I could tell how much he missed her. We all did. She was like the glue holding us together. And once she was gone, we had to find something else to hold us all together. And we did. We found we couldn't survive without each other. But the thought of Max being back, it sent shivers up my spine. We had seen her die 2 years ago. We had seen her breath stop we saw her die. People don't just come back to life. It doesn't work that way.

"How could she come back? It's not like Frankenstein whe..." before i could finish my sentence there was a knock on the door. I opened the door and was staring right in Ari's face.

"Where is she?" was all he said.

"Who?" I asked. I had no idea what Ari was talking about.

"Max. We know you have her body. And Which one of you thoguht it would be funny to burn Dr. Ferguts neck killing him? You're mad at him because he created you? So you steal Max's body, which I understand, her being family and all, but killing Dr. Ferguts and the way you did it. That's just plain messed up." Ari told us.

"Wait, you had Max's body?" Iggy asked. Ari sighed.

"Yes, The Institute had Max's body. But it disappeared in the 2 days between Dr. Ferguts death and her scheduled incineration date."

"You INCINERATED her!?" I was getting ticked off now.

"No, I said incineration DATE. But, she disappeared, and Dr. Ferguts, the leading researcher in the Avians, was found dead. And Max's body was gone." Wait, i thought for a second, Max's body disappears, Dr. Ferguts dead, this girl showing up.

"Something weird is going on. And you know what it is." I firmly stated.

"If I understood what was going on would I be asking you? besides, I'm... I'm dieing. My... expiration date is soon. I won't last long and I figured, if i'm going to die I might as well see if you knew anything about what happened to Max." Ari finished sadly.

"Oh. Thanks Ari. We'll try to find out what happened to her, for you." Iggy told him. I almost gave him a glare then realized, this was pretty much a dieing man's wish. It was the least we could do to accept.

"Oh, and by the way, Dr. Ferguts was killed by a 3rd degree burn to his, ugh, neck. int he shape of a, URGH, hand." Ari said giving grunts of pain gripping the wall.

"Ari!" Gazzy yelled. Gazzy had always had a soft spot for Ari. The whole being turned into an Eraser thing. Ari just collapsed on the ground. 

"If you ever see Max again, i want you to tell her, that... I'm... sorry...I couldn't... save... her..." Woah. Ari dieing? Saving Max? What the HECK is going on? If we ever found Max, I'd tell her. Even if i was talking to a mound of dirt and a tombstone, I would deliver his message.

"Now what?" was all Iggy said.

"I think it's time, we talked to this 'Max Ryde.'" I said standing up. 

The Next Day

Third Person POV

Fang was leaning against the wall outside Bricmar High School. He was waiting for 'Max' to show up. The final bell rang and students began filing out of the school. Fang saw 'Max's' hair he stood up and began following her. She was walking to the woods. He rushed to catch up to her.

"Hey!" he called out. 'Max' turned around and her eyes widened. She broke out into a run.

'Damn it Fang, you just have to go ruining everything for yourself don't you?' Fang broke into a run after her tearing throguh the brush in the forest. He broke into a clearing and found no one. On the ground was 'Max's' sweatshirt. Laying nearby was a large feather, much too large for any bird. IT was white with a with a splotch of red on the side. Just like Max's wings except her's was white and dappled with brown. Fang looked up into the sky and swore he could see a figure disappearing into the distance


	7. Sadly, It Ends Chapter 6

-1A/N: Alright dudes and dudettes. The Leviathan I sin the house with yet again, a new chapter! Except this chapter is like, way longer. WAY longer. Much more detail, much more drama, and a little more history…maybe. You'll just have to wait and see what happens. So, let's go! Oh, and also, this will be the last chapter of this story. I feel my shorter chapters have driven away the readers. So, I will write a Sequel to it and hope that it's better. I'll try to make it more independent so you don't have to read this piece of crap story.

Chapter (Something): Birds on a Plane

Fang's POV

Iggy was almost… like, REALLY bouncy. Something not so good for a guy who's blind. He hadn't been paying as much attention lately. He was too excited about his trip to Hawaii. But that was what was weird. Iggy never liked planes, not one bit. Said they were too cold and steely. Too hard to remember. Too… confusing. But yet… he couldn't wait till he got on this plane with the other 8 contest winners. And the President. Yeah he might cause a few problems… If he saw Iggy's wings, what would he say, "Oh, it's one of the escaped experiments. GET HIM!" or something like, "What the…" before the Secret Service had the President out the window with 5 parachutes. Oh yeah, Secret Service. Why did they call it? They're in plain sight, doesn't seem so Secret to me. Then came the really big twister. Max had won the contest too. That could be slightly problematic. Now… Max… she was weird. Iggy seemed to be happy about this even though she was gonna be there. I hadn't seen Iggy this happy in… years. In fact I think the last time he was this happy was when he was learning to read Braille and Max was helping him. He was just so happy when Max would sit there with him guiding his hands over the letters. But Max was gone now… maybe…just maybe Iggy liked Max, as more than a sister? Nah, Iggy never showed any sort of affection. He couldn't have liked Max. No way… What was I thinking?

Iggy's POV

Well, the big day is coming up. Tomorrow is the day that I get on that plane ride to Hawaii. The day I get to see… well, sort of, Max again. I wonder if she's like the one we knew. If she's anything like her, I'm…I'm not sure what I'll do. I've had this crush on our Max since I was like, 5, and Max was helping me to learn Braille. I wish I could go back in time and snatch those days away… to hold like a dieing flower in my hands to protect it. Because, it's pretty much the only thing I have left of Max. After I learned Braille, I tried to be more independent… not be so needy…and unfortunately it sort of pushed Max away from me. I wish I hadn't pushed her away. But now, I may get to see her again… I hope that I do. I really hope that it IS her. The old Max, the one WE know and love.

The Next Day

Third Person POV

Iggy was seen waving goodbye to the flock from the window of the jumbo jet plane. The flock, plus Total, were all standing there waving goodbye to Iggy as he set out for Hawaii. Hey were all wishing him the best of luck.

"_Good luck Iggy." _Where Gazzy's thoughts.

"_Have fun!" _were Angel and Nudge's simultaneous thoughts.

"_Iggy… I hope for all of us that isn't the old Max."_ was Fang's thoughts.

On the plane Iggy laid back in his seat. The President was sitting a few seat to Iggy's left.

"Excuse me son, but, are you blind?" the President asked.

"Yeah… I was in an accident when I was three and it cost me my sight.

"An accident you say? Hm, because it looks like you just have incredibly severe cataracts over your eyes. Possibly removable." Iggy was stunned. Possibly removable? Which means he may be able to see again…

"What do you mean, 'sever cataracts'?" Iggy asked.

"Well, a cataract usually occurs in people of more advanced age, but can occur in younger people too. Cataracts are thin milky films that form over your eyes and block out your vision making you unable to see. Your's seem pretty severe as in it's been there a while and may be a bit hard to remove, but I think it can be done. But the only issue is the amount of money it would take to have the surgery done. It can become very expensive…" Iggy's head drooped. They wouldn't have enough money…they couldn't make enough.

"Excuse me, I couldn't help but hear what you guys were saying. The money thing, no problem. I'll pay for it." It was Max.

"W…w…why?? You barely even know who I am! Why would you pay for a surgery that can make me see?" Iggy said gasping.

"Cause I think you deserve it. And I know you more than you think." Max gave him a wink. Iggy would have reacted if a pink blob hadn't just landed on the wing of the plane. The wing shoo as the gooey pink blob stretched out and formed long spindly legs. It stood up on these legs and 2 red eyes formed. Written across its body were the words, Pink Pearl.

"What's a Pink Pearl?" someone asked.

Iggy remembered that from somewhere. Oh yeah, Pink Pearl were those really good erasers…

"CRAP! They're a new form of eraser." Iggy thought. He didn't know what was going on so he just sat still. He felt the plane rock 4 more times, presumably more PP's. Iggy gritted his teeth helplessly. He felt something pressed into his hand.

"Credit card. For your operation." That was the last thing Iggy heard before a secret serviceman was slammed into him, and he passed out.

When Iggy came to he was lying in a hospital bed. He shook his head and sat up.

"Where am I?"

"You're in a hospital Ig." it was Angel.

"What happened?" Iggy asked.

"Well, Those… things ripped open the door of the plane and crawled inside. The secret servicemen protected the president while the contest winners hid behind them. That Max girl jumped in front dodging away form them and then leaped out the plane window. As she fell she extended "wings" which the press is calling 'a fake well made prop'. The president described her as "An angel form heaven with wings of fire." Apparently as she fell, her wings seem to catch fire and she flew away those… things following after her."

"Oh. And this is all over the news." Angel gave a quick "yup" before asking a question.

"What's that thing in your hand?" Iggy felt the card in his hand from Max.

"My eyes Angel, my eyes delivered by an angel of fire." Iggy simply said before laying back down.

A/N: And so it ends. LOOK FOR MY SEQUEL! UNDECIDED TITLE!!


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